Love of A Malfoy
by GoldenHelikaon
Summary: AU. PostHogwarts. The last time Hermione saw her lover, he was fleeing from Aurors now she is nineteen, a mother and alone. Will she find him again? Will complications and her lover’s allure make her leave her past behind? LMHG.
1. Prologue

**Love of A Malfoy**

**Disclaimer:** J.K. Rowling owns everything you recognise, these characters/places are making her money, _not me._

**Summary:****AU. Post-Hogwarts.** The last time Hermione saw her lover, he was fleeing from Aurors; now she is nineteen, a mother and alone. Will she find him again? Will complications and her lover's allure make her leave her past behind? **LM/HG.**

**Warnings:****Spoilers** for _Half-Blood Prince._ Probably OOC Lucius and Hermione, I will _try_ and keep them in character but…bear with me. Slight **AU** in that Lucius is out of Azkaban, but that very well could happen in Book 7...

**This is my first serious attempt at a het fic, so once again, bear with me.**

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**Prologue**

Hermione Granger, at nearly nineteen years old was pregnant to her much older lover; a lover who, if found out by her friends and the Order, would probably be murdered on the spot for ever coming near her. But how could she not be with this man? Ever since she had first met him back before her Second Year at Hogwarts in Flourish and Blotts, she had been completely taken with the handsome wizard.

The young witch had met the handsome man of her dreams again at the Quidditch World Cup prior to her fourth year, where they had spent an unusually long amount of time staring straight into each other's eyes. She had blushed. Blushing was not something she did often, but staring into those bright silver eyes, knowing he was staring at nothing and no one else but her, made her blush.

The third time they had come face to face was at the Department of Mysteries; he was leading the group of Death Eaters assigned to getting Voldemort and Harry's prophecy off the Boy Wonder. During that night, before she had nearly been killed, she had had half a mind to get the prophecy from Harry and give it to the man she now knew she loved. But before she got that far, the silenced Death Eater had used a curse on her that, if spoken aloud, would most likely have killed her.

Her blond Prince had been arrested and hauled off to Azkaban that night, and she was fairly certain she would never see him again.

Everything changed the summer after her Sixth Year, the summer after the death of the strongest figure on the Light Side of this war. Though she had known she really shouldn't have done so, Hermione went out on her own one day for a walk down the street from her family home; it was then that she was dragged into the thick vegetation of the local park and held against a tree. Out of fright she had squeezed her eyes shut, but could feel a hand over her mouth, a hand covered in soft leather and there had been something cold beneath her chin. It was at that moment that she knew exactly who her captor was; opening her eyes had only confirmed it, as she looked straight into those silver eyes that had been burned onto her mind since she was twelve years old.

"_Miss Granger…"_ he had breathed quietly; his hot breath had ghosted over her face. "_I am going to remove my hand and you are going to stay silent, aren't you?"_

All she had been able to do was nod, and forgetting the fact that he was a highly dangerous man and should currently be rotting in Azkaban, she had delighted in the fact that he was within such close, and wanted, proximity with her.

"_Good girl,"_ a smile had crept onto his face after he had removed his hand from her silent mouth. "_I would like your company, Miss Granger, would you be so kind?"_

Their passionate affair had started that summer; she at nearly eighteen while he was forty-three. They had stayed in touch during the school year; she had managed to convince Harry to go back so that he could be properly prepared to defeat Voldemort. She had met up with him during Hogsmeade weekends, always managing to give the Auror supervisors the slip; she had even snuck out of school to meet up with the delicious blond.

But it had been the day after she had graduated from Hogwarts that she had landed in this predicament, she was now pregnant with his child; a month and a half pregnant and she really needed to tell him.

Now, she was back in the same park that she had reunited with him; she was being no where _near_ as alert as she really should be. What was she going to do? Where was he? Why was he no longer replying to her letters? Was he sick of her? Had she done something wrong? Had he finally come to his senses and remembered that she was nothing more than a 'lowly little mudblood'?

Barely five minutes later, Hermione was struck with a sense of deja vu, as a hand pressed over her mouth and she was dragged into the thick growth of vegetation again. But as soon as she was pressed up against the very same tree as last summer, the hand was removed and replaced with a rather fierce mouth.

Hermione clutched at the expensive robes with one hand and wound one arm around the neck of the man pressed up against her; she whimpered quietly when his mouth was gone and opened her eyes. "Where have you been?"

The blond glanced around them worriedly, like he was expecting to be attacked, "Look I can't be here long, I think I was followed," he looked back into her widened brown eyes. "You mentioned in one of your letters that you wished to tell me something… Something important?"

Hermione sniffed and nodded, "Yes… I-" she broke off when they both heard the sound of twigs snapping and the distinctive sound of the Apparition _pop._ She soon found herself being spun around and soon realised she was being used as a human shield, as she saw the robed figures of Aurors materialising around them.

"Let her go, Malfoy!"

Hermione could practically feel her lover sneer behind her, she forced herself to appear frightened, but she really wasn't. She _knew_ he wouldn't hurt her, she trusted him, he had _promised_ that he would never hurt her; though her feigned fear did become a little more real when she felt the tip of his wand press against her neck.

"Now why would I want to do that?" the blond leaned his head forward and closer to the girl's faces; his lips brushing against one flushed cheek. "Such a pretty little thing… Perhaps I will take her with me and have a little fun?" an Auror started to move forward so he increased the pressure of his wand against her neck the slightest bit. "_Don't_ even think about it or I. Will. Kill. Her."

"We can strike a deal, Malfoy, let her go."

Malfoy chuckled quietly against Hermione's ear, "Oh no, no… You are _not_ locking me away in that prison again-"

"Malfoy, you will _not_ _win!_ Leave the girl alone!"

Hermione squeaked, more out of surprise than fear, as she was pulled tightly against the man behind her; she could feel his smirk against her ear.

Malfoy's silver eyes stayed upon the Aurors as he started whispering very quietly into Hermione's ear, his wand still pressed against her neck, "I can't take you with me, Hermione, they will stop at nothing to get you back-"

Hermione barely moved her lips as she started a meek protest, "Lucius, no-"

"Sh," Lucius continued, he had his back pressed right up against the tree, so that no one could come at him from behind. He knew the Aurors would not try and curse him in case they hit Hermione. "Look after yourself, keep quiet about us, and wait for me. I will come for you when it is safe," he started to move his wand, his eyes still on the edgy Aurors. "I love you, Hermione."

Hermione's eyes widened; he had never said that to her before. But she had no time to return the sentiment at all, because next thing she knew, she was being practically thrown forward into the waiting Aurors. She collided hard with one of them, as curses and hexes started to fly, but in the midst of it all, she had heard the _pop_ of Apparition, and she _knew_ Lucius had gotten away safely. The cussing of the Aurors only confirmed that.

Hermione fell to her knees, her arms wrapped around herself, as she took in what had just happened. One thing was for sure, Lucius Malfoy returned her feelings; but would she ever see him again? The prospect of not seeing him again, in her current condition, caused her to start sniffling; she was fairly certain that the Aurors would take this as a sign that she was reeling from the 'shock' of what had just happened.

A female Auror, who she didn't know, pulled her carefully back to her feet, "Come on, sweetie, you need to come with us."

Hermione just sniffed and nodded, she allowed herself to be Side-Along Apparated to the Ministry of Magic where she was in for a long period of questioning about what happened prior to the Aurors showing up.

All she could think about though, was Lucius and the fact that she had not been able to tell him she was pregnant. Even if she had had time to tell him, she had been preparing herself for him not being pleased about it; after all, did the _evil_ and _pureblooded_ Lucius Malfoy want to sully his family name with a half-blooded child? A half-blooded _bastard_ child, to be precise.

Would she ever find out what he would think about it? His last foray into fatherhood had been a bit of a disaster; he had told her during their times together how truly and greatly disappointed he had become in his son, Draco. About how he had hoped his son would be more like himself, and that he would be able to pull up his grades and beat _her_ in school.

"_Quite an enigma, aren't you, Miss Granger?"_

"_Do you have to keep calling me 'Miss Granger'?"_

"_Do you not want respect?"_

"_Of course I want respect, but we are in bed, you don't have to call me 'Miss Granger'."_

"_I will call you what I wish, _Miss Granger, _now you may call me 'God' as you did earlier."_

"_I am _not _going to refer to you as 'God'."_

"_I think you should, the world would be a much better place if people started to do that."_

"_I am sorry to say…but, you are extremely full of yourself."_

"_I am a Malfoy, my dear, _most _of us are."_

"_Well, your son certainly doesn't have that much to be full of himself for."_

"_My son does not deserve his family name. Now let us not discuss him any further in our current state."_

Hermione sat there, arms folded over her abdomen protectively, in her interrogation chair; she wanted to go home and crawl into bed until this was all over. Better yet, she wanted to crawl into a bed with Lucius, and wait for this war to be over.

The Light Side was clearly losing, that much was obvious; perhaps they wouldn't be if they had Dumbledore but they didn't. Voldemort's forces were strong and he was gaining almost every day.

"Now, Miss Granger, just one more time for certainty and then we can let you go home. What happened with Lucius Malfoy prior to the group of Aurors showing up?"

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**Author's Note:** Was that an all right prologue? Do you think I might be able to do justice with a het ship? Lucius/Hermione is my favourite one, after all.

**Next Chapter:** **Chapter 1.** Story picks up six months after the birth of Hermione and Lucius's child.


	2. Chapter One

**Love of a Malfoy**

**Disclaimer:** See Prologue. I now also own Samuel (Sam) Lucius Granger.

**_Thank yous:_** _kittykatekat, EsScaper, WiccainWillow, MagicalAngel, llgeekgoddessll, orlin, Applekissis, musicangl107, lost angel92, mysticpam, vytiri, Allison, TrinityLayne. _

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**Chapter One**

Hermione Granger lay on her bed, curled up and watching her baby boy sleep in her crib; she would be twenty years old in less than three weeks. The semi-famous, know-it-all of Hogwarts was now a young single mother, with no job and no income, no parents, and she only had a roof over her head now because she was certain that many in the Order felt sorry for her. Her current residence was Twelve Grimmauld Place, which was once again, the Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix, with Remus Lupin as the Secret Keeper now.

Her baby had arrived in the middle of March, nearly two weeks premature, this was barely a day after she had found out her parents had been murdered by Death Eaters.

Death Eaters… She was really beginning to think that falling for one had been a big mistake, after all, she had not seen Lucius since last summer in that park. All she had heard from him were two very short letters last Christmas and that had been it, he still didn't know about the baby – his son. Would he ever know?

There was a quiet knock on her door, Hermione sat up and ran her hand through her hair as she replied, "Come in."

Remus Lupin popped his head into the room, he immediately frowned slightly at the miserable look on the young woman's face, "Lunch is ready if you're hungry," Hermione gave a nod. "Are you ok?"

Hermione nodded again, "Yeah, I'm fine… I'll come down in a bit…"

Remus gazed curiously at the girl for a few moments longer before nodding, "All right," with that he left the room, closing the door quietly behind him again.

Hermione sighed and slumped her shoulders, as she turned her eyes back to her baby again; she had been trying to be careful around Remus these last couple of years. The werewolf was a fairly accomplished Legilimens, so she had been trying to avoid direct eye contact with him ever since she started her affair with Lucius. Then again, he had been regarding rather suspiciously since last summer when she had announced that she was pregnant to those close to her, after all, she wouldn't have been able to hide it from them for long. Had Remus figured out her secret? If he had, he was certainly keeping quiet about it…

The fact that Sam was half a Malfoy could have been _very_ incriminating for, her but luckily, the little boy did not sport blond hair or grey eyes, which would have heightened the suspicion around her.

The brunette got to her feet when she noticed that her son was waking up, she went over to the crib and leaned over the side to pick up the wakeful child, "Hello sweetie, did you have a good nap? Yeah?" the little boy cooed happily upon hearing and seeing his young mother. "Come on, Sam, let's get you fed."

Hermione carefully held her son to her chest and left the bedroom, and headed downstairs to the kitchen for lunch; she entered the basement kitchen and found Remus, Molly and Arthur Weasley, Fleur Delacour and Tonks at the table. There had been no Harry, no Ron and no Ginny for a while now; the three of them, along with Bill were off searching for Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes. Hermione had originally decided to go with them, but she had had to opt out of the search when she found out she was pregnant and now she needed to be with her son.

Hermione sat down next to Tonks with Sam still in her arms, as Molly spoke, "What would you like, Hermione?"

"Um… I'm not that hungry, actually," replied Hermione; she gave an apologetic smile to Molly. "I think I'll just feed Sam," she started to get up but Molly stopped her.

"I'll get it for you."

Hermione gave a smile, "Thank you," she accepted the well prepared bottle of milk off her 'adoptive' mother. Everyone lapsed into silence for a while as they ate their lunch, Hermione feeding her son and thinking as she did so; she was pondering her plans for the rest of the week and whether she should tell the Order or not. It would probably be best if she told them what she was going to do, she didn't want them to worry unnecessarily, though she knew they would even if they did know what she was up to. "I… I'm going to go away for a few days."

Five heads turned towards the young woman and Arthur spoke up, "Hermione, I don't think-"

"_No," _said Hermione cutting him off sharply. "I _need_ to go away for a few days, and no one is going to stop me."

Remus took a sip from his cup of tea before speaking, "Hermione, you know it's dangerous, we really can not afford to lose another member of the Order."

Hermione sighed and cuddled Sam to her as tightly as she dared, "I know it's dangerous, and I know I should stay here but… It's just something I need to do…" they were all frowning at her, Molly was even scowling. "…Sam needs his father, and I need to tell him he has a child; he promised he would come to me and he's not going to have a chance if I'm here. I need to be somewhere he can find me, or I need to find him."

"Where will you go?"

Hermione sighed, "If I tell you that you'll have me followed. I want to be alone, and I do not want to be tailed."

"What about Sam?" questioned Molly; she had been noticing changed in Hermione ever since the summer before the girl's seventh year at Hogwarts. Hermione was usually such a logical thinker, but now she was becoming more irrational, and Molly knew it all had to have something to do with the man that got the girl pregnant. "You can not just leave him, he needs his mother."

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows, "Who said I was leaving him? Sam is coming with me; he is going to meet his father."

Molly narrowed her eyes at the girl, "Hermione, you can _not_ take such a young child out there! You and Sam need to remain here where you are both _safe."_

Hermione, too, narrowed her eyes; Molly always had been controlling, "I am _not_ staying here. I am leaving whether you want me to or not."

Molly got to her feet, slamming her hands down on the table making everyone jump and causing Sam to start sniffling, "I will _not_ allow you to take that child out of this house!"

Hermione glared at the older woman, but when she spoke, her voice was forcibly calm, "With all due respect, you have no jurisdiction over my life and the way I choose to raise _my_ son. I am leaving today and you are _not_ going to stop me. If you don't want me to come back, then fine, I won't, but I'm sure you wouldn't like it on your conscience if Sam and I were attacked or _killed_ by Death Eaters," with that, the young woman got to her feet and stormed out of the kitchen leaving a very highly flustered Molly Weasley to be calmed down by her husband.

Hermione had made it back to her room and had placed Sam back into his crib so that she could pack, when Remus caught up with her.

"Hermione-"

Hermione spun around to face the greying werewolf, "_Don't_ try and stop me."

Remus sighed, he leaned back against the wall and studied the girl before him, "I wasn't going to try again, I know how stubborn you are," Hermione glared at him out the corners of her eyes. "But you can't blame Molly for caring about you-"

Hermione scoffed, "She only puts up with me because I'm friends with Harry, Ron and Ginny," she started to stuff clothes into a bag. "And maybe she doesn't voice it, but I can clearly see her disdain for me. For one thing, I am a muggleborn, and she quite _clearly_ has a problem with that. For another, she's been pissed off at me ever since I decided I didn't want Ron because I had found someone else with _far_ more maturity than he will ever have," she took a deep breath to try and calm herself. "Like I said to her, it's my life, and she has _no_ right to try and order me about."

Remus had his eyebrows raised slightly, "Are you quite finished?" Hermione practically growled at him. "I agree, Molly and the rest of us have no right to order you about, you're an adult. However, we do have the right to care and worry about you," he watched as Hermione sat down on the edge of her bed and close her eyes. "I know there is no stopping you from leaving and I won't try to, but I just want to make sure that you have thought this through properly. If it's something you _have_ to do, then you should, but do you really think it's a good idea to take Sam along with you?"

Hermione sniffed and put her face in her hands, bending over almost double on the bed; she felt the bed shift a little before an arm went around her shoulders comfortingly, "…I don't know… I just need to find him, he promised me he would come for me, and he can't if I'm not somewhere that he can find me…"

Remus frowned a little and hugged the girl to him; this was sounding awfully like a fairy tale, like Hermione was waiting for her Knight in Shining Armour to come for her, her Prince Charming. "It's against my best judgement, but…if you think you can find him safely, then you should."

Hermione lifted her head and pressed it against Remus's shoulder, "Thank you…" he sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Please promise me you won't have someone follow me."

Remus sighed and reluctantly nodded, "I promise I will not have someone follow you," he really didn't want to let her do this alone, but now he had promised he didn't want to upset her by going back on it. Though if he had reason to break the promise then he would.

Hermione managed a smile before hugging Remus tightly; other than Lucius, he was probably the only other person who had some proper level of understanding of her. "Thank you."

……

Within the hour Hermione had packed up a bag, gotten Sam ready and left Number Twelve Grimmauld Place; as soon as she was out the front door, she Apparated straight for her old family home. The Death Eaters had attacked and murdered her parents in this place, but they had left the house intact, other than the few valuables they had taken.

Hermione had Apparated straight into the back garden, hoping it would lessen her chances of possibly being spotted; but as she headed into the deserted house, she failed to notice the dark eyed Death Eater watching from the bushes.

The Death Eater had been coming to this house every day for the last fortnight, not by order of his Master, but at the pleading of his oldest friend. He had never seen that man beg before, but he had done so the night he was nearly killed.

"_Severus…please… Get her…"_

"_Luc-"_

"_You-oh hell, the pain is killing me! You have…you have to get her for me... I need her…"_

"_Where am I supposed to find her?"_

_A groan of pain sounded before the reply, "I don't know…her family home maybe…"_

"_Her parents are dead."_

"_Severus, you have to! Please…" _

And so the dark haired Death Eater was here, hiding out behind the old home of the muggle Grangers and their magical daughter. Once he was sure that the girl was inside, he started creeping towards the door; he had wasted too much time doing this for his friend, he needed to get this over and done with.

…

Hermione placed her bag on the kitchen table and gazed around room; all the surfaces were covered in six months worth of dust, she had not been back here since about a month before the murders. In fact, the only reason she was here now, was because this house and the park down the road, were two of the most likely places that Lucius would look for her… If he had been looking…

"This would have been your home, Sammy," said Hermione quietly to the little boy still in her arms. "This was the home of your grandparents…they were killed by your daddy's _friends…"_ she trailed off when she heard the sound of the back door quietly closing behind her. "Are you going to kill me?"

"If I was going to, I would have done so by now, Miss Granger… But Lucius would have my head on a platter if I did."

Hermione spun around, cradling Sam protectively; as she came face to face with a man she had not seen since the night of Dumbledore's murder. The dark haired man in question was Dumbledore's _murderer,_ "Where is he?"

Severus Snape raised an eyebrow, his eyes briefly resting on the child in his ex-pupil's arms, before raising them back to the brunette's face, "Lucius is rather incapacitated at the moment and requested that I deliver you to him."

Hermione's eyes widened at that, "What's wrong with him? What happened?"

Severus frowned slightly, "I will tell you when we get to where he is. Gather your belongings and get outside, I don't have time to waste."

Hermione narrowed her eyes slightly; it seemed Severus Snape had not changed much, not that she had expected him to have done, "Fine," she picked up her bag and put it back over her shoulder, Sam held against her chest. "There. I'm ready."

Barely two minutes after following Severus outside, Hermione found Sam and herself standing in front of a large white mansion; with one look at the landscape surrounding them, she determined that they were certainly not in England.

"Come," said Severus; he started heading up the steps to the large front doors. "This is the French estate of the Malfoy family. Clearly our location is France, you need not know anymore than that at the moment."

Hermione huffed quietly, silently cursing the man leading her into the massive foyer of the Malfoy Mansion, "Why is he here? Why is he not at his Wiltshire home?" she asked as she glanced around. A marble floor beneath her feet, dark green carpet sweeping up the grand staircase complete with handcrafted banisters. The walls were adorned with expensive artwork and what appeared to be family portraits; there was also a large chandelier suspended above the foyer. So this was the lifestyle of the wealthy…

Severus beckoned her to follow him up the staircase; he had been quite surprised that the usually rational young woman had agreed to come with him straight away. After all, he had not expected any trust from her whatsoever, he had killed Dumbledore in front of the 'Chosen One'; he had been cruel to her through the six years he had taught her. Perhaps it was his mention of Lucius that had caused her to follow and not question him… "I think I will allow Lucius to tell you what happened," he said as they drew near to the grand master bedroom on the second floor. "I warn you, he has been in a bad way; there is no superficial damage however; though a fortnight ago the internal damage was quite shocking."

A quick glance behind him as he stopped in front of the bedroom door told him that the Gryffindor Know-It-All was shocked into silence.

Hermione drew to a halt just to the side of the Death Eater and glanced at him, to the door and back.

"With the state he has been in this last fortnight, I do not think it wise to give him the shock of a child on top of it all," said Severus, smirking slightly as Hermione's eyes, if possible, widened even more.

Hermione sighed; if Lucius really was in a bad way then perhaps Severus was right, "Is that your way of offering to baby-sit?"

Severus regarded the child in distaste for a moment or two before inclining his head slightly, "If I must."

Hermione smiled slightly, "Good," they went through a careful exchange of the child into the ex-Potion Master's reluctant arms. "His name is Sam. If he cries, let me know. He better remain unharmed."

Severus raised an eyebrow, "I maybe a Death Eater, Miss Granger, but even _I_ would not harm a baby."

"Very well," Hermione placed her had on the door knob just as Severus spoke again.

"You are being very trusting, Miss Granger. Has Potter's foolishness finally rubbed off on you?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and glanced over her shoulder at the dark haired man, "I have never been afraid of you, _Severus,_ even after you killed Dumbledore. I have also, as you seem to know, been sleeping with Lucius Malfoy and have remained unharmed. I also find present company far more pleasant, than what I left behind a little while ago."

Severus smirked, "Don't let me keep you."

Hermione gazed at him for a moment before looking to her son, "Be good, Sammy," with that she turned back to the door and slowly turned the handle, feeling black eyes watching her.

Hermione took a deep breath and pushed the door open; she quietly entered the dimly lit room and closed the door again behind her after one last glance back at her son. Turning her eyes onto the room, they soon fell on the slim figure propped up in the bed; she quickly registered the lank blond hair, the slightly thinner body and the unusually pallid complexion.

"Lucius?"

The man in the bed slowly opened his eyes and turned his head towards the young woman in his room, "Hermione…" he shifted a little and grunted in pain. "I was…I was starting to think…I would never see you again…"

At that moment and because of the pain in the man's voice, Hermione rushed over to him, she clambered onto the bed, and as carefully as she could she hugged him; she kissed him on the face and neck several times before replying, "I'm here now," she felt a very weak arm move around her waist. "I'm here now and I'm not leaving."

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**Author's Note:** Yes, a cliffhanger. I'm sorry! Hopefully I will get another update up before the weekend is out, I'm enjoying the foray into het **:-D** Oh, by the way, no one but Hermione knows that Sam's middle name is 'Lucius'.

**Next Chapter:** **Chapter Two. **Lucius, albeit painfully, explains what happened to him and why he had not tried to find her. Will Hermione tell him about Sam or will she wimp out?


	3. Chapter Two

**Love of a Malfoy**

**Disclaimer:** See Prologue and Chapter One.

**Thank yous:** _michelline, WiccainWillow, Applekissis, mysticpam, EsScaper, Slytherin95, FictionalBadGuyLover, Mary, vytiri, musicangl07, Allison, CareBearErin._

**Just a note, I do actually like Narcissa, so I am not going to be cruel to her, in case any of you were wondering where she came into the equation.**

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**Chapter Two**

"_I'm here now and I'm not leaving."_

Hermione pulled away from Lucius enough so that she could look into his light grey eyes; she cupped his thin face in her hands, "What happened to you?"

Lucius managed to weak smile, at the moment he really did not think he was all that worthy of this woman's worry; after all, he had left her alone for over a year, "…Did Severus not say anything?"

Hermione shook her head; it was horrible hearing the pain in the blond's voice, "No, he just said that you were 'incapacitated' at the moment, and that a fortnight ago he damage was quite horrible…" she watched as Lucius tried to move but she gently pushed him back against the pillows by his shoulders. "Don't try and move, you need to rest."

Lucius immediately followed the order, any amount of movement was both exhausting and painful for him at the moment; even talking was a struggle, but he needed to do that in order to tell his love everything that he needed too. "Listen, what happened to me…you need to know…" he felt a finger press against his lips.

"Yes, I do," replied Hermione seriously. "But you are clearly in no state to tell me right now," she pushed some of that long blond hair behind the man's ears. "Rest now and tell me in the morning."

Lucius nodded a little, "Ok," though painfully, he managed to get himself settled down in the bed with Hermione's help. "I'm glad you're here… Don't leave me…"

Hermione kissed the blond lightly on the lips, "I won't," she too, settled down next to her lover and cuddled up to his side, resting a hand on his chest. "I'll be right here," _unless I have to leave to tend to Sam…_ she added silently. She lifted her head again as she felt Lucius's breathing deepen, as he fell asleep.

How many people had seen Lucius Malfoy in such a state before? How many had seen this powerful man so vulnerable? She was betting not many had seen him like this before, Severus and herself certainly; had his wife and son seen him like this before?

Hermione propped her head up on one hand, her other gently rubbing the stomach of the sleeping man in an act of comfort; she remembered her mother used to do that for her when she was little, after a nightmare or when she was sick. She had never seen anyone in this sort of state before and she hoped she would never have to again; she was certain that Lucius did not entirely deserve what ever had happened to him.

Severus was right, the shock of a child right now would probably be too much for Lucius to handle, and she did not want to be the cause of some sort of emotional or mental breakdown in the blond.

Sighing, Hermione put her head back down next to Lucius's, her hand still moving in gentle circles over his stomach. Soon she drifted off to sleep herself, her mind still on thoughts of Lucius.

……

It was dark outside when Hermione woke up again; a thin yet warm body propped up next to her, her hand still on flat stomach. She yawned and stretched before sitting up to find Lucius watching her, a faint smile on his pale face. "Evening…" she trailed off into another yawn.

"Good evening," replied Lucius quietly; he didn't sound so pained now. "I would have woken you but you looked like you needed the sleep… You didn't even wake up when Severus came storming in here."

Hermione raised her eyebrows, "Why was he storming in here?" had he done something to Sam? She had nearly forgotten all about her son when her worry about Lucius over took.

Lucius gave a smirk, "I may have forgotten to tell him that my wife would be arriving this evening," he noticed the look of alarm on Hermione's face and gave a proper smile. "You have nothing to worry about, she knows and she doesn't care."

Hermione gulped audibly, "Is she still here?"

"Yes, she is," Lucius reached a hand out to run his fingers through Hermione's wild mass of brown hair. "She has to keep up the appearance of an adoring wife to her sister… Anyway, she can keep Severus at bay, so we don't have to worry about him."

Hermione nodded slowly; if Narcissa had come across Severus already, had she found out about Sam? Perhaps knowing her husband was having an affair didn't bother her, but what would she say if she knew he had fathered another child? "Ok…" she let her eyes wander over Lucius's face; he wasn't looking quite so pale now. "You're looking better, I must say."

Lucius shifted slightly, "Since waking up, I have been force fed many pain relief and healing potions… I think I'd much prefer you as a nurse than Severus."

Hermione smiled, "I can be for a couple of days…" she could see a question forming in Lucius's eyes. "I promised the Order that I would be back within a few days… I only left because I was sick of being treated like a child that couldn't think for herself."

Lucius frowned, "What are they doing to you?"

Hermione waved a hand dismissively and crossed her legs, "It doesn't matter. What matters, is what happened to you."

Lucius sighed, "Where do you want me to start?"

Hermione propped her elbows on her knees and leaned forward slightly, resting her chin on her hands, "What happened to you to put you in this state?"

Lucius lowered his eyes so that he was staring at his hands, "I am surprised you haven't heard, actually… What happened to me has a lot to do with that damn Order," he didn't have to look at Hermione to know there was surprise on her pretty face. "Were you ever told of two Death Eaters captured by Aurors?"

"Yes…"

"And that the Order was left to deal with them?"

"Yes…"

Lucius took a deep breath before continuing, "I'm sure you can guess…I was one of the two. We were captured and held in a dungeon, I still don't know where exactly it was… The first members of the Order to turn up were Arthur Weasley, a couple of his brats, and Potter," he took a glance at Hermione to see a look of hurt in her brown eyes; he was after all telling her about people she had trusted. "We had been relinquished of our wands, clearly, and were chained up so we were not able to defend ourselves… They began taking it turns to beat us, curse us, and just generally torment us, and for what? Information. Even as Death Eaters, we don't start interrogations with torture…

"For four days, it continued…each day a different group from the Order arrived to have some 'fun with us," continued the blond bitterly. "I was half expecting to see you one of those days… I don't remember too much, four days worth of that torture caused me to lose consciousness, my accomplice, Rabastan Lestrange was not so lucky… When I came to, I was here, and I found out he had died while I was unconscious. Of the two of us, I thought it would have been him to survive…both the Lestrange men have always had more balls than I…" he trailed off into thought, but was jolted out of it when Hermione spoke quietly, her voice shaking.

"How did you get away?"

Lucius gave a grim smile, "Well, I would not be alive if it weren't for Severus… From what I gather, he has not been that forth coming with information, but I do know an Order member died after he got the required information…" he finally looked directly at Hermione and was surprised to see tears in her eyes.

Hermione sniffed and gazed straight back into those grey eyes, "I…I had heard about the captured the Death Eaters…but I never…I was never told who they were… I never even thought that you would be one of them…" she took one of Lucius's hands in her smaller ones. "Did they get any information out of you?"

"No," Lucius shook his head slightly. "I never said a thing to them, at least I don't think I did, which I suppose, increased their anger towards us."

Hermione nervously chewed her bottom lip; she could feel her anger growing towards the Order, though in fact, she could see a lot of them resorting to something like that, but not Remus… "Wa…Was Remus Lupin one of them?"

"The werewolf?"

Hermione gave a shaky nod.

Lucius thought for a moment, "I don't recall seeing him. Why?"

Hermione shook her head slightly, "I was just wondering… I should have found out more…they had meetings without me…"

Lucius raised his hands to Hermione's face and used his thumbs to wipe away the tears threatening to fall, "You couldn't have done anything, even if you had known…not without them finding out about us…"

Hermione nodded weakly in agreement, "I know, but still… I hate being kept in the dark, and what happened to you is just one reason why…"

Lucius frowned slightly, there was something she was not telling him; he could tell there had been something else on her mind since she had arrived, "Why would they not tell you certain things? Surely they would not keep you from meetings?"

Hermione sniffed and averted her eyes from his, "They had their reasons…"

"What are you not telling me, Hermione?"

Hermione sighed, she should have known better than to try and keep something from Lucius; he was no Legilimens but he had his ways of knowing he was being lied to or kept in the dark. "…There is something you need to know… I thought maybe Severus was right and that it wouldn't be a good idea to tell you at this moment…"

"Never listen to Severus about relationships."

Hermione smiled slightly, "You remember last time we saw each other in the park last summer?" Lucius nodded. "You remember I wanted to tell you something?"

"…Yes…"

Hermione took a deep breath before ploughing on; she guessed it would be better telling him sooner rather than later, "I wanted to tell you…that…" she trailed off and sighed before looking him directly in the eyes. "I wanted to tell you that I was pregnant."

Lucius's grey eyes widened slightly, "Pregnant?" Hermione gave a meek nod. "That was over a year ago…" he trailed off and his eyes travelled down to her abdomen before he raised them back to her face. "Did you have the child?"

Hermione searched his face for some clue as to how he felt about this but she could see none, "Yes, I did…" Lucius's complete lack of reaction and reply was really beginning to worry her. "If I had had time I would have told you, but…and I didn't want to tell you in a letter, because it didn't seem right. Then…then I didn't see you for so long, and-" she was cut off by a finger pressing against her lips.

"Sh," said Lucius softly. "You're speaking as though I'm angry about it. I am shocked, yes. Surprised, certainly…" he tried to move closer to her but winced in some pain, it seemed his pain relief was wearing off a bit. "Where is this child?"

Hermione smiled tearfully, she honestly didn't think Lucius was going to take it so well, "Your son, Samuel…or Sam, for short."

Lucius raised an eyebrow, "How muggle."

Hermione huffed a quiet laugh, "You realise who his mother is, right?" Lucius smiled slightly. "His middle name is Lucius."

"And his surname?"

"Granger," replied Hermione. "I couldn't very well give him the Malfoy name without questions."

Lucius nodded in agreement, "He doesn't look like me, does he?"

Hermione smirked and shook her head, "It would have been much harder to keep his father a secret if he did; clearly my genes are stronger than yours."

"Where is he?"

Hermione hesitated, "I… I left him with Severus…"

Lucius's eyebrows practically disappeared into his hairline, "I can't say that was the wisest decision, my dear," Hermione looked down sheepishly. "Though he has had experience with babies, being Draco's Godfather…"

"Do you want to meet him?"

Lucius smiled, "I would like that," he watched as Hermione got up from the bed; she was dressed in muggle clothes, a simple pair of jeans, a black tank top and a pair of blue and white trainers. "Severus will probably be in the study, the door is beneath the grand staircase," Hermione gave a nod and headed for the bedroom door. "If you cross Narcissa's path, don't worry, she won't hurt you."

Hermione frowned slightly, "I hope you're right."

"I always am."

Hermione smiled and left the bedroom; she headed along the dimly lit hallway and to the grand staircase, it was rather in the entrance foyer so she had to tread lightly down the stairs, holding onto the banister. Once she reached the bottom she looked to her left and right before choosing to go to the left in search of the study door; she neared a door that was open ajar, light coming through the gap and she could hear voices from inside.

"Honestly, Severus, if she told you to get her when he started crying you really should have," came an irritated female voice. "A baby this young needs his mother."

"I am rather occupied at the moment, Narcissa; I do not have time to worry about Lucius's spawn."

The woman, Narcissa, gave a huff, "You have certainly changed your tune about Lucius's children, you used to care quite a bit about Draco."

"That is different."

"How?"

"This child also belongs to an ex-student of mine, a girl might I add, who is a great deal younger than your husband."

Hermione pushed the door open and glared at the dark haired man, "I am _not_ a girl, _Severus,"_ she turned her eyes to the blonde woman who was cradling her son, and she immediately lost her confidence. This was, after all, Lucius's wife, a woman who had shown nothing but disdain for her the few times they had met.

Narcissa could see the nervousness in the young woman before her, "If I was going to hurt you, I would have done so when I found you sleeping next to my husband a couple of hours ago."

Hermione sighed; though she was still nervous, was it some sort of new trend or something? That such fanatical blood purists were suddenly being so friendly towards a mere 'mudblood'; she really was not expecting this kind of reception off Draco Malfoy though, if she ever had to come face to face with him again. Before she could reply though, Narcissa spoke again.

"Is Lucius all right?"

Hermione nodded her head, "Yes, he is…he wants to meet his son…" she felt slightly intimidated when Narcissa walked over to her; the woman was a good two inches taller than herself, not to mention far more beautiful, this only led to her questioning, once again, why Lucius would want such a plain, muggleborn, like herself.

Narcissa handed the young child over to his mother; she had had plenty of time to get used to Lucius having affairs; this certainly wasn't the first time, though this seemed to be a far more serious relationship than before. She too, had had the odd affair every now and again. After all, they had been in an arranged marriage, they were good friends, and they loved each other as friends, and respected each other's privacy. They had discussed separating or divorcing before, but had decided to stick it out, for Draco's sake; but he was an adult now, they really had no need to stay together. "He's a good child, he calms down quite well, even around someone such as Severus," she passed a sly look towards the scowling dark haired man.

Hermione smiled slightly and carefully held her son to her chest, "Thank you for watching over him," Narcissa smiled back at her.

Severus was watching the two women closely from the desk he was sat at, his dark eyes flickering back and forth between the two; they were both so different, yet Lucius loved them both. He had been half expecting a vicious cat fight, he had seen it happen before, but Narcissa had accepted it rather quickly; despite the fact that her husband was sleeping with a _muggleborn,_ a girl that had been in the same year at Hogwarts as her own son. It was rather odd, personally he had been incredibly shocked when he learned of Lucius's affair with a girl still in school, not to mention said girl being a muggleborn _and_ a Gryffindor. Though if he had to be honest with himself, he had always admired Hermione's talent and brilliance, it was just disappointing knowing that she was friends with Potter and Weasley; he felt that she could have done so much better. If Lucius had told her already of his ordeal though, he felt certain that those friendships would end.

Narcissa spoke again before Hermione left the study, "I would like to talk with you sometime, how about we have lunch together tomorrow?"

Hermione nodded, "Ok, sure," though Narcissa was being nice, she was a still a little iffy, despite Lucius's reassurances. "Anyway, I better get back to him…"

"Certainly," Narcissa offered her hand. "Nice to meet you properly, Hermione."

Hermione shifted Sam a little and shook the offered hand, "You too."

Hermione soon left the study and headed silently back up the stairs, cradling Sam; she was hesitant enough around that woman during only a few minutes… How was she going to survive lunch with her tomorrow? Perhaps she would ask Lucius for some tips before tomorrow lunchtime.

When she quietly re-entered the bedroom she saw Lucius was leaning back against the pillows, his eyes closed, he appeared to be asleep again; but as she closed the door she saw a faint smile form on his face.

"You took your time," said the blond. "Would I be right in thinking you met Narcissa?"

"You would be right," replied Hermione as she moved over to the bed; Sam now had a fistful of her hair. "I am having lunch with her tomorrow…"

"She won't bite, I promise you," said Lucius before opening his eyes just as he felt Hermione sit down on the bed beside him; he saw a tiny hand in the brunette's hair before his eyes fell on the child she was carrying.

Hermione untangled her hair from her happy son's hand, "Lucius, this is Sam. Sam, this is your daddy."

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

**Author's Note:** Yes, a sort of cliffhanger… Do you think the Narcissa confrontation happened too quickly? It doesn't matter now anyway, but what do you think?

**Next Chapter:** **Chapter Three.** Lucius-Sam time. Hermione and Narcissa's lunch date. Hermione pen's a letter of disgust to the Order.


	4. Chapter Three

**Love of a Malfoy**

**Disclaimer:** Same as previously said.

**Thank yous:** _lazyllama101, brilliantbrunette89, AureliaMalfoy, queenanneus, mysticpam, musicangl07, Sarahamanda, SerpentClara, lost angel92, Applekissis, EsScaper, FictionalBadGuyLover, vytiri, kittykatekat, Meow-Mix-91, CareBearErin, noxon1, SeverusSnape'sLove TeSjah, louey31, san01, Nausica._

**I'm sorry for the very recent lack of updates… My muse hates me. I have a whole barrel load of excuses for you, but I won't bore you with them. But FINALLY another chapter!**

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

**Chapter Three**

It was warm and sunny the next day, it was lunchtime and it had come all too soon for Hermione's tastes. She had barely slept at all last night after introducing Sam to his father, and on top of that, she had been worrying about her lunch 'date' with Narcissa.

"_If you don't provoke her, she won't bite."_

"_You're not making me feel any better."_

"_Just don't mention Draco at all."_

"_I had no intention of doing so."_

"_And it would probably be best not to mention this war, as well, unless of course Narcissa starts the conversation."_

"_Is that all I should know?"_

"_I think so yes… Just don't be intimidated."_

"_I'll try."_

"_Have fun."_

"_Ha! If Sam needs me at all, let me know, don't ignore him like Severus did."_

"_Hermione, I am perfectly capable of looking after a baby. I have done it before, remember."_

"_You are still hurt though…and can you actually get up?"_

"_Yes, I can. I've just been choosing not to."_

"_Ok… Be good, Sam, I'll be back soon." _

And so she was here. Sitting at a table in the Mansion grounds with Narcissa Malfoy, her lover's wife; it would be too dangerous for the two of them to go into town and have lunch at a café, but then Narcissa would have refused anyway, as the nearest villages and towns were entirely muggle. There was tea, wine, bite size sandwiches, and then certain foods that Hermione had never seen before; so naturally, she assumed that this was the kind of thing the rich, upper class wizards and witches ate.

Hermione, once again, found herself feeling rather inadequate sitting opposite Narcissa. Narcissa was just so feminine and dainty, and very lady like; very blonde, very elegant and delicate; she was all those things that Hermione knew she certainly wasn't. She was very tom-boyish, her best friends were boys and they rarely treated her like she was a woman, even after having a child; polite chit chat was not something she was really all that accustomed to either.

"So tell me, Hermione," said Narcissa before taking a sip from her glass of wine. "How did Lucius and yourself come together?"

Hermione started to fold her arms on the table but quickly decided against it, that didn't seem like the proper thing to do; so instead she folded her hands in her lap, "I was just taking a walk one day, in a park near my family home, and…he turned up, held me up against a tree and told me not to scream," she sighed. "I trusted him immediately, which could have been a potentially fatal mistake, I'm still not quite sure why I did, to be honest."

Narcissa smiled, "Yes, Lucius can be very charming when he wants to be. I know some women in the past who have embarrassed or fallen over themselves because he has looked at them in a certain way," she primly placed her hands on the arms of her chair. "He has always been quite disappointed that it never worked on me."

Hermione smiled slightly, "I can't help but melt every time… He's the first man I've met that's ever treated me with such respect, and I honestly don't think for a minute that I deserve it."

Narcissa raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow at the young, rather self-deprecating woman opposite her, "I will be honest with you, and I am sorry if I cause offence," she looked straight into Hermione's brown eyes. "I was rather appalled when I found out about this particular affair, knowing that you are not pure of blood, and barely older than my son. However, I do trust Lucius's judgement, and if he sees fit to treat you with the same respect that he himself wishes to be treated then I will not argue about it."

Hermione nodded slowly, she had been waiting for a comment like that, and she was quite thankful that Narcissa was being honest with her and not just feigning a pleasant attitude towards her. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, I'm just… I've never really gotten a straight answer out of him about… Well, why _me?_ I'm sure he could have any woman he wanted…" she was actually finding it incredibly easy to talk with Narcissa. What exactly had she been afraid of before this lunch date?

Narcissa smiled, "Well for one thing, Lucius has always preferred brunettes," Hermione raised her eyebrows slightly. "I also think he has spent a lot of his life searching for a woman who is not at all like the average high society pureblood."

Hermione frowned slightly, "What do you mean?"

Narcissa paused for a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing, "He has never actually mentioned this to me, but when you live such a monotonous life you can't help but study those around you. What I have noticed with Lucius and his preferences… He prefers an independent woman, a woman not wanting to be with him for his wealth and nothing else, a woman who has a high degree of control over her own life and actions."

"You seem to be that kind of woman."

Narcissa gave a small nod of her head, "It has taken a long time for me to become this way, I was brought up as the dependent baby of my immediate family and I behaved as such for quite a number of years," she lapsed into silence for a moment or two. "Anyway, though Lucius likes the occasional sycophant in those he does business with or are 'below' him, he does not like it in a potential partner."

Hermione silently considered this for a few moments, "Well maybe so, but I still find it hard to believe that he is able to see passed my heritage, considering he treated me like the dirt beneath his feet for a few years before deciding to sleep with me."

Narcissa cracked a small smile, "I do not pretend to be a leading expert on the ways of Lucius Malfoy, but I can hazard a guess as to why he did so," Hermione tilted her head to the side in intrigue. "I would think his feelings for you have probably been around for quite some time, even from the first time you met, however you were very young at the time, were you not?"

Hermione nodded slowly, "It was the summer before my second year… Are you saying that he was trying to distance himself by being cruel?"

"Yes," replied Narcissa simply.

"Oh…" the two women lapsed into a few moments of silence before Hermione snickered and started laughing quietly.

"What?"

Hermione glanced up at Narcissa and shook her head, "Sorry… I just… I never thought for a minute that I would be having a conversation like this with _you_ of all people, about your husband. It's just very weird."

Narcissa nodded in agreement, "It is rather odd, I must admit. I do not generally confront his mistresses as a rule; it sometimes becomes quite a messy situation," she took a sip from her cup of tea; a very ornate and expensive cup of tea. "Will you be staying with us for some time?"

Hermione stayed silently for a few moments, considering the question; well, she had told Lucius she would have to return soon, but did she really have to? "I haven't decided yet… I probably should go back to London, if only to satisfy the curiosity of the people who think I'll get myself killed. But then, of course, I could never go back and send a few angry owls and howlers to them explaining my reasons and how much I dislike them at the moment."

Narcissa smirked slightly as the indignant young woman before her spoke, "Would I be right in thinking that Lucius has told you of his ordeal?"

"Yes," replied Hermione quietly, as she folded her arms. "I just can't believe they did that and kept me in the dark about it."

In a feigned absentminded way, Narcissa made her next comment, "There are a few handy little curses I could show you that are easily sent by Owl mail."

"Really?"

"Certainly."

"Could I think about that and get back to you?"

"Of course."

……

That evening, Hermione was sitting in the big study beneath the staircase, pondering over what to write in the letter she wanted to send to the Order. But as she sat at the desk thinking, her mind kept wandering back earlier today, after she had finished talking with Narcissa and had gone to check up on Lucius and Sam; she had walked in on a very sweet little father and son bonding session.

_Hermione had quietly re-entered the bedroom that she had left Lucius and Sam in a couple of hours ago; as soon as she had entered her eyes fell on the blond man sitting in a rocking chair with her-**their** six month old son. She also noted the _Daily Prophet _open on Lucius's lap, and the fact that the man was pointing out pictures to his son, and reading articles and letters to the Editor to Sam. Neither man nor baby noticed her presence for near ten minutes, not until Sam gave a happy little shriek upon realising they were not alone anymore._

_Lucius looked up from his paper, first he looked to Sam on his lap and being supported by one of his arms, and then to the beaming Hermione watching them, "You survived then."_

_Hermione continued smiling, "Yes, it was actually surprisingly pleasant," she tilted her head to the side. "Are you and Sam enjoying yourselves?"_

_Lucius smiled slightly and glanced at Sam, "Yes, I think we are, aren't we, Sam?" he nodded his head so that Sam would start copying him. "He is currently learning about the disgrace that is the British Ministry of Magic."_

_Hermione laughed quietly and slowly shook her head, "I honestly can't see how you went wrong with the first one."_

_Lucius sighed, "No, neither."_

_Hermione finally went over to the two of them; she bent down and kissed her son on the head, "Have you been a good boy, Sam?" she then looked to Lucius and kissed him full on the mouth. "You won't mind looking after him for the rest of the day then?"_

"_Of course not. Why?"_

"_There are some things I have to do, things that I need to think long and hard about."_

_The blond gave her a slightly quizzical look before it passed into a look of understanding; he gave nod, "Understandable. You know, if you want to hurt them without being present, there are a few curses I could teach you."_

_Hermione laughed, "Funnily enough, Narcissa has already made that offer."_

_Lucius raised an eyebrow, "She's your new best friend, isn't she?"_

_While giving Sam a quick cuddle, Hermione spoke, "I somehow doubt that your _wife _and _mistress _could ever be best friends."_

So here she was, making no progress whatsoever in writing her letter of irritation to the Order; and though it was a fairly good idea, she had not taken Narcissa or Lucius up on their similar offers of teaching her some Mail Order Curses. At least, she had not taken them up on the offer _this time._

So far, she had started about six different letters and had decided against each one of them; instead screwing them up and throwing them into the rubbish bin, and missing every time.

Did she want it to be a cruel letter? A fairly pleasant but to the point letter? Did she want it to be a crazy rant? Or perhaps a very short and simple letter that clearly displayed her dislike of their methods and many of the Order members?

Gazing around the study, she was starting to think about giving up on this letter for today; at least she was until Severus Snape entered the vast room. She watched as he acknowledged her presence with a nod in her direction and continued onto the bookcase against the wall opposite the door.

It was then that the young woman got an idea, "Severus?"

"…Yes?"

Hermione smirked slightly; it was obvious that he did not like the fact that she was no longer intimidated by him; despite his past actions towards herself and those around him. "If you were writing a letter of disdain to the Order, what would you say?" that certainly got his attention.

Severus slowly turned to face the brunette behind the desk, an eyebrow raised, "It would depend on what they had done, though I would guess that this is about Lucius, yes?"

Hermione gave a nod, "Yes, and I'm just plain sick of them."

"At the risk of sounding hopelessly muggle, Miss Granger; would you be turning to the Dark Side?"

Hermione caught a glimpse of what appeared to be amusement in her ex-Professor's eyes, and laughed, "Maybe, maybe not. I'm really not on anyone's side at the moment."

……

An hour later, and after having a fairly pleasant conversation with Severus, whom it turned out, _did_ indeed have a sense of a humour (albeit a rather cruel one); nevertheless, she had finished her letter to the Order and had sent it off.

Now all she could do was wait; she had requested that they reply and had told them that the owl knew where to find her, even if they didn't. Though she would not put it passed them to track the owl on its way back.

………

The next morning, at the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, an owl sat waiting for someone to take the letter from its leg.

"Who could that be from, do you think?" questioned Molly Weasley, as she looked at the handsome owl perched before them. "It does not seem to have gone through the Ministry, it could be anything."

George Weasley carefully took the letter from the owl and looked at the writing on the front of the envelope, "That's Hermione's handwriting."

A few minutes of loud chatter followed George's comment, as the members of the Order present tried to decide whether to risk opening an unchecked letter or whether to disregard it. But then, they had not seen or heard from Hermione since she had left, and several members of the Order had been passed her old family home and had found it completely deserted.

Finally though, it was decided to open the letter and to see if it really was from Hermione; as it turned out, many of them did not believe that she would write such a thing.

_To the Order of the Phoenix,_

_I write this letter with the feeling of contempt running through my veins at the recent actions undertaken by the 'esteemed' Order of the Phoenix. You may wonder as to what actions I am talking about, they would be those that you felt privy to keep from knowledge for a matter of weeks; and though you may not see it now, those actions did matter to me. Had I known about this from the start, I would have left the Headquarters much sooner than I did, believe me._

_Ah, the actions which I so despise now. Yes, you remember, I am sure, that several members of the Order recently partook in the torture of two Death Eaters. In saying this, I am giving up the secret I have been keeping; however, I no longer care what any of you think. The death of Rabastan Lestrange from your torture was unfortunate, however his treatment is not what the problem is; the treatment of Lucius Malfoy is what my problem is. I know exactly what went on during that 'interrogation', if you could call it that. What I fail to understand is just why members of the 'good' and 'light' Order of the Phoenix, would immediately turn to various methods and degrees of torture in order to interrogate Death Eaters, when simple methods such as Veritaserum and Imperius would have worked just fine. What I also fail to understand is just why I was not informed of this little venture; I can, however, hazard a guess and suggest that certain members of the Order already knew of my little secret. You know who you are._

_I am sure there are several questions you would like for me to answer, some I can, and some I simply refuse to answer as you have no need for that information. _

_Will I be returning to the Order Headquarters? No. I have come to the decision to remain where I am, as of the moment, as it is a much more pleasant place to be than surrounded by a group of pathetic individuals whom I though I could trust. A search party will be useless._

_Why am I making such a big deal about Lucius Malfoy being tortured within an inch of his life? Well, did you not think that Sam's sudden conception was at all odd, as I apparently had no boyfriend to speak of? Well, now you know. Again, don't even bother searching, you will not get anywhere._

_Am I under Imperius and/or being beaten into writing this letter? No. This was entirely my idea, after I learnt the truth, and I plan to make you suffer. Though, it may shock you to know that I have had a few tips from Severus for what to put in this letter._

_Any other questions? Please, by all means, reply to this letter; if only so that you can attempt to track the owl back to where it came from._

_Farewell for now, we may meet again, or not._

_Yours in condescension,_

_Hermione Granger_

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**Author's Note:** How was that? Yet **another** update! Considering I wrote the first half of this chapter back in January, and finally finished the second half in a couple of hours, I'm quite proud of it. I'm not entirely pleased with Hermione's letter, but meh…

**Next Chapter:** I'll surprise you!


	5. Chapter Four

**Love of a Malfoy**

**Disclaimer:** I only own Sam, out of these characters. If I owned any of the other characters I would be JK Rowling, and I would therefore not need to write fan fiction.

**Thank yous:** _ohhdarkstonedone11, Nausica31, WiccainWillow, michelline, Leology, Viktor Krum's lazyllama101, mysticpammy, Meow-Mix-91, noxon1, louey31, AuntBecky, queenanneus, Aono, vytiri, musicangl07, EsScaper, nelygirl._

**I am sorry if you do not like what I am going to do with Remus Lupin; however, I do like the idea so I'm going to go with it.**

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**Chapter Four**

It had been over a week since Hermione had sent her letter to the Order, and she had not received a single reply like she thought she would. She did find this quite odd, but she was determined not to think on it too much, as she had other things to do around the Malfoy Mansion; her son, for instance, needed her attention. Lucius did too, to some extent, tough he was fully healed now; he was still attempting to milk it for all it was worth until she got sick of him.

But at this moment, the brunette was getting a bit bored; she had just put Sam down for a nap and she was wandering around the mansion, not having fully explored it yet. She knew Lucius and Severus were discussing 'business' in the study, and she was told not to interrupt under any circumstances.

However, being as curious as she was (sometimes to a dangerous degree); she had stopped a few feet away from the study on her mansion-walk-about, as she had heard her name. What could they be discussing her for?

"_Hermione needs to know."_

"_She doesn't _need _to know, Lucius, you _want _her to know."_

"_Yes, I do _want _her to know; but she does trust him, I'm sure she does. He is the only one that I have not heard her condemning since I told her what happened; as it so happens, she has perfect reason to, she just does not know it yet."_

Hermione frowned; what on earth are they talking about? Or rather, _who_ were they talking about? A man, presumably in the Order, that she had not condemned for Lucius's treatment, thus far… Who hadn't she had an angry rant about?

The answer clicked into her mind right then: _Remus Lupin._

But what did these two know about Remus that she didn't?

"_What, do you think she will _stop _trusting him once she learns the truth? Lucius, she trusts you, is that not reason enough for her to continue trusting him? There is also the fact that I murdered Dumbledore right in front of Potter, and she has not attempted to kill me. I am willing to think that her trusting the Dark Lord is not too much of a stretch, right now."_

Hermione chewed her bottom lip; Severus was a Legilimens yes, but could he really read her that well?

"_I am going to tell her."_

"_I believe that you will, though I do doubt that he will be pleased about her knowing the truth."_

"_Have you ever known him to lose his temper?"_

"_I seem to recall he does that every month."_

That one comment from Severus completely satisfied Hermione's mind about who they were discussing. It was most definitely Remus, after all, _every month_ he became a werewolf; which would account for him 'losing his temper'. But what were they getting at about Remus? Was he some sort of double agent? Was he really hoodwinking the Order that well?

"_Isn't it about time you got over that, Severus? It has been a _very _long time."_

Severus seemingly ignored that comment and continued on with the conversation.

"_I will be meeting up with him tomorrow at the usual spot for his information, and be sure that I will tell him you plan on telling Hermione."_

"_I don't doubt that."_

Hermione heard some movement from inside the study, so she quickly tip toed away and went back upstairs in the hope that neither of them found out that she had been eavesdropping. But in that hope she remembered that Severus was a Legilimens, once more, and she was certainly no master of Occlumency; he would easily be able to find out if he thought she was hiding something from them.

……

Lucius sat in his armchair with a glass of Firewhiskey in one hand; Severus sitting opposite him, "Are you certain that he has not found out about her presence yet?" he had not yet gone back into the Dark Lord's circle since his torture. It was only a matter of time though, before the Dark Lord requested his presence again.

Severus nodded, "He has not mentioned it at all, unless he has found out and is just biding his time," he swirled the Firewhiskey in his glass around thoughtfully. "Though when he does find out-"

"_When?"_

"We are not going to keep her presence a secret forever, Lucius, you _know_ that," replied the dark haired wizard. "Mind you, he may deem her to be a good asset. After all, who would suspect the Muggleborn?"

Lucius was silent for a few moments, gazing thoughtfully at the carpet between himself and Severus, "Not many who are not of Pureblood have survived him before, no matter how loyal they may seem. I highly doubt he would spare Hermione."

Severus raised an eyebrow slightly, "He has spared some of us; Lupin, myself… Why not one of Potter's closest friends? She could certainly hand him knowledge that other spies have not been able to uncover, things the boy has only divulged to his friends."

Lucius, once again, remained silent for a prolonged amount of time; he was seriously considering Severus's words, after all, it was true. There was no way Hermione's presence would remain a secret from the Dark Lord for much longer… It was just a matter of what he would do to her when he found out. "I will talk to her about it tomorrow; she can decide for herself whether she remains here after that."

………

The next day arrived far more quickly than Lucius had anticipated it would, he had decided to come clean to Hermione today about a few things; particularly about Lupin and the fact that it was only a short matter of time before the Dark Lord found out about her. He chose to talk to her after lunch, once he was certain that both Severus and Narcissa were out of the mansion and that Sam was having a nap.

Lucius found Hermione on the porch at the back of the mansion; leaning back on the steps in the sun, her eyes closed and wild hair being lightly ruffled by the wind. In fact, upon seeing her like that, he was willing to wait longer for the talk so that he could stare at her sunbathing for a while; but he quickly shook those thoughts from his head. "Hermione," Hermione straightened up and looked up at him expectantly. "We need to talk."

Hermione chewed lightly on her bottom lip, as she got up and followed the blond man through the mansion and to the study, once more, "Is everything all right?" she was wondering whether he wanted to talk about his conversation with Severus yesterday; the one she had 'accidentally' overheard.

"Firewhiskey? Sherry?"

"You know I don't drink," replied Hermione; she sat down on the couch, her legs tucked beneath her.

Lucius nodded; he then poured himself a generous glass of Firewhiskey, while feeling a bit anxious about this upcoming conversation.

Hermione raised her eyebrows slightly; was Lucius Malfoy actually _nervous?_ "What is this about, Lucius?"

Lucius sat down in his armchair and looked to the young woman before him, "As you know, Severus and I had a very long discussion yesterday, and some matters that cropped up involved you," he noticed as Hermione took on a look of intrigue. "Another thing, which is what I most want to talk to you about, involves Remus Lupin-"

"Oh no, he's dead isn't he?"

"No! No, no, he's not dead," said Lucius; he took a drink of his Firewhiskey. "Look, the thing about Lupin, is that he is not entirely what he seems – and I don't mean the werewolf thing, which you already know about," he continued on, after making sure that Hermione wouldn't interrupt him. "Lupin is a spy. He has been gaining favour with members of the Order for a number of years now; especially since Dumbledore's death. I know from him, and yourself, that the Order has a lot of trust in him now; that they treat him, somewhat, as a Leader."

Hermione nodded slowly, "But Dumbledore always trusted him so much…"

Lucius smirked, "Dumbledore also trusted Severus a great deal, and look what happened there; he was murdered by one of the Dark Lord's most faithful servants."

Hermione frowned slightly, "But what about the trust that Sirius had in him? The same with Harry?"

"I won't even attempt to try and psycho-analyse Narcissa's cousin," replied Lucius honestly. "Nor will I try and explain Potter's trust in Lupin."

"_I_ trusted him…"

"Hermione, you have been living with three Death Eaters for over a week, and need I remind you about what you have been doing with me for quite some time?"

"Point noted."

Lucius sighed; he could see she didn't really like this new knowledge, "I can see you are not fond of what I've told you, but at a time like this, needs must, Hermione."

"I know…" said Hermione quietly. "I just… Remus? Really? I mean… It just doesn't seem possible with the way he is, his attitude, his personality… I mean, I trusted Severus for the six years he taught me, but there was always something seriously amiss with the way he behaved; the same with you, Narcissa _and_ Draco. The other Death Eaters I've met, have all been the same, some worse than others; Bellatrix, comes to mind there. But _Remus Lupin?_ He is one of the kindest and least judgemental people I know."

Lucius remained silent while Hermione talked, and when he was certain that she had finished he spoke, "I can not answer your questions about Lupin and the way he behaves, as he is not very forthcoming with information. I do not know the full story behind his actions and his betrayal of Dumbledore, but I am sure he did have his reasons; he is a very good asset to the Dark Lord and it shall _remain_ that way."

Hermione didn't have to hear the exact words from Lucius; she knew that had been an unspoken threat, to keep Remus's secret from the Order, should she decide to return, "You-you said there was something else about me?"

"Yes, there is," Lucius knew full well that he had probably just upset her, but he needed to make sure of her trustworthiness; though it was something he really shouldn't have to question in the young woman. "Your presence here will not remain a secret from the Dark Lord for long; it is only by luck that our relationship has not been brought to his attention before now."

"And?"

"And what?"

Hermione looked into those grey eyes, "I assume there is something else you want to say, Lucius. I am a _mudblood_, I am a friend of Harry Potter, I am a member of the Order of the Phoenix; I am just about everything that _Voldemort_ despises in a human," she had deliberately put emphasis on the Dark Lord's name, knowing that Lucius would not like it. "So tell me, _what else_ do you want to say?"

By now, Lucius had narrowed his eyes at the brunette, "Don't you _dare_ say his name again," he had been taken by surprise at her little outburst; she had never really spoken to him like that since their affair had started. What was worse is that she didn't seem the least bit intimidated by him either. "It is your choice what you do, Hermione, I will not make it for you. Either you stay here and find out what the Dark Lord will do, or you leave and-" he broke off when the study door opened and Narcissa appeared.

"Oh, sorry," said Narcissa, quite unconvincingly. "Did I interrupt something?"

Lucius held his tongue instead of saying something nasty to her, "No, nothing. We're finished," with that he placed his glass on the coffee table, got up and swept out of the study in a manner very reminiscent of Severus.

Narcissa's raised her eyebrows at her husband's sudden dismissal of himself and then she looked to Hermione, who appeared to be quite upset, "Should I ask?"

Hermione managed a grim smile, "No."

………

The next morning, after a night spent in another part of the mansion as she had refused to sleep in the same bed as Lucius; Hermione sat out on the porch once more, a letter in hand. It was a letter from Remus Lupin; she had waited until Lucius had stormed off somewhere before going outside to read it.

_Hermione,_

_I am risking a lot by sending you this owl, but as I am not able to leave Headquarters for a few days without anyone wondering what is going on; this is only way I can communicate with you. Hopefully no one will notice me writing this or sending it._

_By now, I am sure that Lucius has told you the truth about me (Severus told me of his plans to fill you in); I am not sure how much you know but I suspect only as much as Lucius himself knows. I will not say too much more in this letter, as I wish to speak with you in person; I plan on making a trip to France in the next few weeks on 'Order business', and I will make a visit then._

_On to other things, as you gathered; both from your behaviour before you left and from the letter you sent the Order, I did indeed know of your affair with Lucius and of Sam's paternity. You know now why I never said anything about it, I thought it best to protect Sam and yourself from the wrath of everyone else (Harry and Ron, in particular); but I also needed to cover my own back, as un-Gryffindor as that sounds._

_Your letter… Well, that certainly caused a stir around here, Hermione, I can tell you that. Molly blew her top after hearing it, she was yelling about how secretive and untrustworthy she 'knew' you were. Several agreed with her. Also, Harry, Ron and the others returned from the Horcrux search to find out about the letter; the two boys are swearing their revenge on Lucius and Severus and getting ready to hunt them down to 'rescue' you. I am in the dog house, so to speak, for not trying to stop you from leaving in the first; and because of my position, I haven't exactly discouraged them from their search for you at the moment. I will warn you, however, if you do decide to reappear here, your head will possibly end up on a plaque like Kreacher's ancestors. _

_I must sign off now; I am getting a few suspicious looks._

_I hope you are well, and that Lucius is looking after you. And I hope that you do not let Severus and Narcissa terrorise you too much._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Remus_

Hermione rested her head back against the back of the chair, and she pulled her feet up onto the chair; the letter clutched tightly in her hand.

"From Lupin?"

Hermione jumped slightly at the voice, she hadn't realised that she was no longer alone; she looked to her left to see Severus standing there, arms folded and eyebrow raised, "Yes, it is. He said he would be stopping by in the next few weeks."

Severus nodded and sat down at the wooden table, opposite her, "Yes, he expressed his concern about Lucius being the one to explain the truth to you."

Hermione smirked, "He didn't."

"Excuse me?"

The young witch put the letter on the table in front of her, and placed her glass on top of it so that it didn't blow away in the light breeze; "I heard you two talking the other day; I already knew most of it before he outright told me," Severus still had an eyebrow raised, as if in question; though it did also seem to be his most natural look next to the scowl. "Has Lucius said anything to you?"

"No, he has been in a rather unpleasant mood since I returned yesterday," replied Severus shortly. "What did you say to him?"

"Nothing."

"_Granger."_

Hermione sighed; there really was no point in trying to hide something from Severus, he would find out one way or another, "I was just making him see a few home truths, that's all. He did also insinuate that I would give up Remus's secret at the drop of a hat, and I let him know that I did not like that."

"I'm sure."

Hermione glared at her ex-Professor, "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

Severus sighed, "He wants to protect you, Hermione, and your son. If that means having to drive you away, he will do it," Hermione looked down at the ground. "I presume he told you the Dark Lord does not yet know about you being here?"

"Yes."

"_That_ is why," continued the dark haired wizard. "Personally, I think he does know and is just biding his time; but that is even more reason for Lucius to be protective, and for _you_ to be prepared," he leaned forward in his chair and looked Hermione right in the eyes. "If you remain here, Hermione, he _will_ come for you and he may not be feeling particularly merciful at that time."

Hermione sniffed and nodded; that was all she needed… But then, she knew Voldemort could find out about her and Lucius being together eventually, it had been on the forefront of her mind since that day in the park when he had requested her.

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**Author's Note:** Yay! I wrote that in ONE day! Admittedly, it took me over a week to get around to it, but still, an update.

Now, what do you think of the addition of SecretivelyDark!Remus? Hopefully, the story will get more fun from now on…well, fun in a dark way, anyway.

**Next Chapter:** Three weeks later. Remus's visit. Lucius has an audience with the Dark Lord and Draco makes an appearance.


	6. Chapter Five

**Love of a Malfoy**

**Disclaimer:** Sam Granger-Malfoy is mine. Everyone else belongs to J.K. Rowling; I am just borrowing them for my own evil deeds before returning them in relatively good condition.

**Thank yous:** _Sarahamanda, Viktor Krum's lazyllama101, Midnight_ _Lilly, louey31, michelline._

**I won't pretend that I'm not a little disappointed in the lack of reviews for last chapter; but I do know that this site wasn't exactly in full working order at the time I posted.**

**Midnight****Lilly:** No, Severus and Remus are _not_ together. I am going to try and write just **one** story without slash present. As much as I would love for them to be together in this story, I have had had Severus's love life in mind since I started the story, and he is very much straight for once.

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**Chapter Five**

Hermione was currently all alone in the massive mansion of the Malfoys in the French countryside; she had not been explicitly told why she would be alone for a few hours but it was not difficult for her to guess. After all, she had been jolted awake when she felt Lucius leap out of bed and to his feet this morning, a pained expression on his handsome face; she had not bothered to ask what was wrong, as her eyes had fallen on the blackened Dark Mark on his left forearm. The Dark Lord had called.

She was sat in the rocking chair in the bedroom, cuddling Sam at the moment; her mind wandering off elsewhere. Surely Lord Voldemort knew she was here by now; he _had_ to know. Lucius was not exactly a brilliant Occlumens, and as good as Severus was; she felt that even he would not be able to block the Dark Lord out forever.

Would Voldemort come for her when he did find out?

Did he already know of her presence and was just biding his time like Severus thought?

What would happen when he did come? She felt sure that the Dark Lord would not let the chance of interrogating her or killing her pass by; she had, in the past, been very close to Harry, not to mention the fact that she had helped foil his plans on a couple of occasions.

Hermione carefully got to her feet; Sam still supported in her arms; she couldn't sit up here all day.

…

"Good, good," said Voldemort; a cruel smile on his face, as he observed the snivelling Death Eater at his feet. "You are all dismissed, _except_ you, _Lucius."_

Lucius stayed frozen to his spot, on the Dark Lord's right; his eyes briefly catching the black one's of Severus through their masks. He remained silent and still; his head bowed, as everyone else left the meeting hall, located from what he could see out of the window, in the Highlands of Scotland.

The Dark Lord stepped in front of Lucius, "Lucius," he noticed that the blond did not raise his head. "_Look_ at me, Lucius," Lucius raised his head; his light grey eyes settling on the snakelike face of the Dark Lord. "You have been hiding something from me, Lucius."

"My Lord?"

"Or rather, some_one,"_ continued Voldemort; his scarlet eyes practically boring into Lucius's skull. "A young mudblood, to be precise. A mudblood, from what I gather, you have recently had a child with. A mudblood, who was once friends with Harry Potter."

Lucius tried in vain to keep all emotion out of his eyes; not that it would matter, Voldemort could see right through him anyway. However, as much as he would use the term 'mudblood', usually; he would throw the word around carelessly, in fact. But he did _not_ like to hear it in relation to Hermione; after all, she had the true brilliance of a pureblooded witch, so he did not dwell on her lack of pure blood.

"Am I right, Lucius?"

"Yes, my Lord."

Voldemort smirked, "Yes, I thought so… And what do you think I should do with this information, Lucius?"

Lucius breathed deeply before replying, "I think she should be given a chance, my Lord."

"You do, do you?" replied the Dark Lord thoughtfully; his eyes unblinking, and never leaving Lucius's. "Bring her with you next time. I will make my decision then."

"Yes, my Lord," Lucius finally wilted under the Dark Lord's intense gaze; he had to blink and lower his eyes slightly.

"Did she come to be with you willingly?"

Lucius frowned slightly; but he nodded anyway, "Yes, my Lord. It did not take much to gain her trust."

"Does Potter know of this affair?"

"I think so, my Lord. Hermione sent a letter of contempt to the Order a few weeks ago, the truth about our relationship was in it," replied the blond carefully; he knew not to say too much, as the Dark Lord did not like his servants to ramble on when asked a question. He also did not like short one or two word or syllable answers. Either way, you had to be careful or you would receive the Cruciatus at point blank range.

"She has disassociated herself from the Order, then?"

"For now she has, my Lord."

"Very well," Voldemort narrowed his eyes slightly at the man before him. "You can go."

Lucius bowed slightly, finally dropping his gaze, "Thank you, my Lord."

……

When Lucius finally got back to his mansion in France, he was left standing in the doorway in shock. It looked as though a bomb had gone off in the entrance hall; as he looked around, he saw Severus emerging from a door to the right. "What happened here?"

Severus smirked, "It would appear that your son and mistress crossed paths."

Lucius sighed; in the flurry of this morning's call to the Dark Lord, he had completely forgotten to warn Hermione that Draco would be arriving today, "Would I be right in thinking that Hermione won?"

"You would be, yes," Severus did not often look truly amused, but he really was right now. "I am sure Draco will come to, soon," he let his eyes examine Lucius for a moment. "He did not want to punish you, then?"

Lucius shook his head, "No," he closed the front door behind him. "He does, however, wish for Hermione's presence next time he calls."

"I thought as much," said Severus; but before he could say anything more, Hermione came storming out of the same door that he had previously come from.

Upon seeing Lucius in the middle of his partially destroyed entrance hall, Hermione narrowed her eyes slightly, "Just in case you were wondering, _my_ hexes actually _hit_ their target. This is Draco's mess," she indicated to the mess around her. "He's lucky I didn't kill him," with that said, she stormed off upstairs.

Lucius barely had time to blink at her retreating figure before she stopped at the top of the stairs and turned back to him.

"If _your_ son goes anywhere near _my_ son. I will kill him," with that said Hermione headed off down the hallway.

Lucius sighed, he glanced at Severus who looked highly amused and as though he _really_ wanted to say something, "So help me, Severus, if you say anything I will make you pay."

"Lucius, you do take the fun out of life."

"Shut up."

………

"I don't think I heard you correctly, father. Did you just say you _love_ her?"

Lucius sighed; he had known this would not be an easy conversation to have with his son when the time came, but Draco really was not making this very easy, "Yes, Draco. That is _exactly_ what I said," he and Draco were currently in the study under the stairs having this conversation. Hermione had not been seen since she had stormed off upstairs a couple of hours ago after the confrontation with Draco, and Severus was keeping Narcissa occupied elsewhere in the mansion. Lucius had a sneaking suspicion that his wife and his best friend were far more than just friends, but he had no right to say anything about it, considering his own affair. "And whether you like it or not, she will be sticking around."

Draco was glaring at his father; he had been for a solid twenty minutes now, "But why her? She's…" he wilted slightly at the look he was getting; his father knew exactly what he had been about to call her. "She's the same age as I am, father."

"She is actually nine months older than you are, Draco."

"What about _mother?_ Are you just going to throw her aside for some common mudblood!"

Lucius narrowed his eyes at the young man before him; they were so alike in appearance, but he dreaded to think that he had once had the very same attitude as his son. In fact, he still did to some extent, "I will throw _you_ aside like a piece of rubbish if you insult Hermione in front me again. Are we understood?" Draco just sneered at him. "As for your mother… She _knows_ about it; she has known since Hermione arrived here over a month ago."

"I don't believe you. Mother would never condone something like this, especially with someone like _Granger."_

Lucius ran a hand through his hair, "Believe what you want, Draco, but I happen to know your mother better than you do. She and Hermione have been getting along quite well, in fact," Draco still did not look convinced and the older Malfoy did not particularly feel like continuing this conversation. He got to his feet and fixed his son with a warning look. "If you wish to stay here, Draco, you will behave. If I hear a single thing about you hurting Hermione – and I assure you I will – I will not be held accountable for what she or I do to you," he headed for the door, not bothering to wait for a reply. This little conversation had been bad enough, and he hadn't even brought up the fact that he had had a child with Hermione.

…...

"Have you talked to him?"

"Yes."

"Will he leave me alone?"

"Probably not, but let me know if he confronts you again."

Hermione sighed and nodded, "All right… How did he take the knowledge of his half-brother?" she noticed that Lucius was resolutely keeping his back to her now. "You didn't tell him about Sam, did you?"

Lucius turned back to the young woman glaring at him, "No, I didn't."

"But Lu-"

Lucius held up a hand to stop her from talking, "Hermione, he took the news of our relationship bad enough. I just… I want to give him a chance to get used to _us_ before he learns about Sam. Please, just respect that."

Hermione nodded, "Ok… As long as you don't expect us to become friends or anything, because six years of childish taunting is a lot to get over."

Lucius went over to the bed and sat down next to Hermione; he pressed a kiss to the top of her head and wrapped his arms around her body, resting his head against hers, "If he tries anything stupid – and I am certain that he will – I know you are perfectly capable of taking care of him. I seem to recall a letter of complaint in your third year about you abusing his face."

Hermione laughed quietly; she fondly recalled that memory, "Yes well, I was highly stressed out and he happened to push me over the edge. It was also your fault."

"How so?"

"I only hit him because he was making fun of Hagrid, _because_ of that hippogriff being executed on _your_ order."

Lucius smirked and nodded, "Would it matter at all if I said Narcissa would have killed me if I did not take action over our son being injured?"

"No, it really wouldn't," Hermione nuzzled her head against the blond's neck. "Did he say anything else?"

"Only that he disapproves and that he doesn't believe Narcissa would condone this."

Hermione snorted, "Well, I'm fairly certain she is off bonking his Godfather at the moment, so it doesn't really matter what he believes."

"That's what I thought."

Hermione lifted her head so that she could look into Lucius's eyes, "How did the meeting this morning go?" she felt Lucius's grip on her tense slightly.

"It went quite smoothly…"

Hermione raised an eyebrow, it was clear he was hiding something from her, "He knows about us, doesn't he?"

"Yes, he does.

"And?"

"And what?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Well, Lucius, I highly doubt the _Dark Lord_ would approve of a pureblood of your standing shagging _me."_

"Very true," Lucius gently ran a hand up and down Hermione's back as he spoke. "He has requested that you accompany me next time he calls," he had never felt her body so tense before; not even on that day in the park where he had taken her by surprise and made it seem like he was going to kidnap. "I had been rather hoping that it would not come to that, but that was wishful thinking."

Hermione sniffed and pressed her head against Lucius's chest, "So…I should probably arrange my funeral before then?"

"_Don't_ talk like that, Hermione," said Lucius sternly. "He did not torture me for keeping our relationship from his knowledge. There is every chance that he may actually let us both live."

"And if he doesn't? What's going to happen to Sam?"

Lucius held the brunette tightly to his body, "I think perhaps we should make arrangements for our son, in case something _does_ happen to us."

"I'm scared, Lucius."

Hermione had spoken so quietly that he had barely heard her tiny voice, muffled by his robes, "You're not the only one…"

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**Author's Note:** Yay! Another chapter! I think I might be getting better with this updating thing again! Plus, I also have only one more assignment and one more essay due this semester, so I'll have a little more time to write.

**Next Chapter:** Remus's visit (sorry I didn't put that in this Chapter 5). Hermione faces Lord Voldemort for the first time. Draco finds out about Sam, and does his best to irritate his father and Hermione. Possibly some Harry/Order stuff as well.


	7. Chapter Six

**Love of a Malfoy**

**Disclaimer:** I own baby Sam.

**Thank yous:** _louey31, mysticpammy, Viktor Krum's lazyllama101, noxon1, orlin, SnapesMistress005, Someone somewhere, yaeko, aliasmel1, eyes of the wolf, misses-charlie-weasly, Stef, oooArianaooo, Emma, LadyErinSnape, AMistressMalfoy, jracklesfan77, DD2, x-Ladiee101-x, amymcthorn, TheCapeWearingOne, MistariaPotter, STEPHiE, Tears-Of-Love-Tears-Of-Hate, EvIlIsHoT._

**Author's Note:** I'm so sorry about the lack of updates. Please forgive me.

**Possibly spoilers for _Deathly Hallows,_ it really all depends on what I come up with for the fic.**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Hermione had just put Sam down to sleep when a little house-elf appeared in the nursery (Lucius had insisted that Sam have his own room, his reasons he would not divulge, although Hermione had a fair idea – Lucius was a _man,_ after all).

"What is it, Jinky?" asked Hermione kindly; she knew how the Malfoys treated house-elves and while she didn't like it, she hadn't done anything to stop it. Lucius had told her how ridiculous he thought her SPEW campaign was when she had told him about it after their relationship began.

_"House-elves are born to serve, Hermione."_

_"No one should be born to serve."_

_"They are not people."_

_"They might as well be," Hermione narrowed her eyes at the blond. "They can use magic, talk and think – you of all people should know that house-elves can be independent, look at the trouble Dobby caused you. He deliberately disobeyed you and tried to warn Harry about the basilisk _and_ he attacked you."_

_"Yes, I do recall that quite clearly, thank you," Lucius sighed. "However, that does not negate the fact that house-elves enjoy serving, and at the mere mention of being freed they launch into a self-abusive emotional fit. Dobby, on the other hand, was always unusual."_

_"He was probably unusual because of the way you treated him," argued Hermione; she was not going to back down. "What if there were no house-elves? Who or _what_ would use to do all of your domestic chores instead? A human slave?"_

_"More than likely," Lucius smirked when Hermione let out a disgruntled groan._

"Master is wanting Miss Hermione to be going to master's study now," squeaked the little house-elf, her head bowed as she spoke.

"Did Lucius say why?"

"No, Miss," Jinky shook her head, her large ears flapping with the motion.

Hermione sighed, "Okay," after asking little Jinky to keep watch over Sam (ever since Draco had found out about his baby half-brother, she had refused to have Sam be alone), Hermione left the nursery and headed along the hallway. As she walked, her mind began to drift as it had been doing a lot recently (there was only so much one could do in this manor when they were confined and she had read through a fair amount of Lucius's personal library already). One thing was plaguing her mind more than anything else was the inevitable meeting with Lord Voldemort; it would be a lie to say she wasn't scared – she was scared for herself, for her son, as well as for Lucius, Severus and Narcissa (all of whom had kept her presence from the Dark Lord until the previous gathering).

What would Voldemort do to her when she was before him? Would he grant her mercy if she took his Mark? Would he kill Lucius for entering into a relationship with a mudblood? What about Sam? Would he be killed because of her? Really, what was the chance of her coming out of this alive?

Severus had seen Voldemort again since the last gathering and he had mentioned that the Dark Lord "had plans" for her, but had been very non-committal about it all.

Hermione was snapped out of her thoughts when she nearly collided with Draco, who only snarled at her and deliberately shoved her with his shoulder as he walked passed. Rolling her eyes at his obvious immaturity, she knocked on the study door before entering, her eyes immediately falling on Lucius, "You summoned me?" her eyes then landed on a man she had been hoping to see for the past few weeks. "Remus!"

In her excitement, Hermione practically jumped on the werewolf, who had clearly been ready for her as he had gotten to his feet and caught her in an embrace when she threw herself at him.

Remus smiled a hugged Hermione before holding her at arms length by the shoulders to give her a look over, "How have they been treating you?" the 'they' in question being Lucius and Severus, who were both present, the latter of which was scowling at the little friendly display while Lucius had already lost interest on gone back to reading the _Daily Prophet_ he had been perusing when Remus turned up.

Hermione beamed, "Surprisingly well. I'm still alive, anyway, although Draco would prefer that wasn't the case."

"Yes, I can imagine," Remus dropped his hands from Hermione's shoulders. "Come on, let's go elsewhere and talk, away from _these_ two nosy sods," he cast a sly glance at the two Slytherins – Severus returned it with a glare.

"It's _my_ house, I have that right," said Lucius from behind his paper.

* * *

"I just don't get it," said Hermione after she and Remus had sat down in one of the many sitting rooms in the great mansion. "I mean, you are the _last_ person I ever would have suspected as being a double crosser. You have everyone's trust and you're so _nice; _it's easy to see Severus as one of Voldemort's spies, he has that dark and nasty thing going on; but _you?"_

Remus sighed, "I joined Voldemort's ranks in a time of great weakness during the first war," under Hermione's unblinking gaze he continued. "My _own_ weakness. I was suspected of being the _rat_ amongst the Order and my friends; I was cast aside by many people because of my condition. I admit, I should have known better, but at that time to a miserable and weak-willed nineteen year old, Voldemort's promises were sounding better and better."

Hermione frowned, "So...you went to Voldemort because he promised things that Dumbledore didn't? A cure?"

Remus nodded, "Exactly. Don't get me wrong, I knew there was very little chance of there _really_ being a cure, but Voldemort had more knowledge than any of us knew. For all I knew he really could have discovered a cure, and from what I heard from other werewolves he _had,_ but that he would only hand it over once we had accomplished the tasks that he had set for us."

"And he didn't."

"No, he didn't. Even if he did have a cure, he would never hand it over, especially with the likes of Greyback around. Voldemort takes great delight in children being bitten and being forced to join his ranks when no one else wants them.

Hermione gazed down at the ridiculously expensive rug between their two armchairs, "So, you were a spy then?"

Remus shook his head, "No, I wasn't. That was a task that was well covered by Severus and Peter, and because I was suspected as being the spy in the first place, I was not always aware of Order meetings nor was I as welcomed around James, Sirius and Lily as I would have been in the past."

"What did you do then?"

"I kept rank with the other werewolves. Being the only one who was magically educated to a high degree, I was in charge of keeping the others in line, despite being distinctly younger than many of them."

"But you're a spy now?"

Remus nodded, "I am," he knew this was probably very hard for Hermione to hear, despite her romance with a Death Eater. "I have a feeling that Voldemort will order you to spy as well."

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows and looked back up at her former professor, "But... Assuming he won't kill me – which, by the way, I am fully convinced that he _will – _how could I possibly spy for him? Everyone already knows I'm here _willingly,_ so why would they let me back in?"

Remus smiled a little, "Hermione, I have just come from an Order meeting and _none_ of them are truly convinced that you are here of your own free will. There is every reason for them to think that you really did write that letter under the influence of the Imperius Curse, and they don't believe for a second that you would willingly endanger your son like this."

"He is _not_ endangered. Well...unless Voldemort has us killed..."

Remus regarded the witch in front of him for several moments before speaking again, "I imagine Voldemort would use this to his advantage. If they truly think you are in danger – and they _do – _then he will know that Harry and Ron will stop at nothing to get you back. There is only so long the two of them can be kept at headquarters to research the horcruxes before they leave to find _you._ It is very likely that Voldemort is counting on Harry looking for you and so it will leave him open to attack."

Hermione forcibly swallowed the lump that had risen in her throat, "I..." she wasn't so sure she was willing to be the bait here; as much as she loved Lucius and as much as she hated some of the Order for the torture they subjected the blond to, she didn't think help in the downfall. "How... How is the horcrux search going?"

"Not very well. It seems to me, the boys realise just how much they truly need your brain now that you are not there spoon feeding them information."

"It's about time."

Remus was about to speak again when stopped short at the sudden searing pain in his left, "I do hope you are prepared, Hermione."

Only seconds later, Lucius and Severus were at the door of the sitting room, both looking gravely concerned and dressed in their Death Eater robes, masks hanging from their hands. At the sight of the expressions all three wizards had, she felt her heart sink and the underlying terror began to bubble up.

"Oh no..."

Lucius took Hermione's hands and pulled her to her feet; he could already feel her trembling like a leaf in the wind beneath his hands, "You have to do this," she was ghostly pale and her brown eyes wide with fear.

Hermione was already frozen in fear of what she was about to come, but she was soon practically dragged out to the front steps. Not feeling the slightest bit comforted by Lucius's arms around her, she felt the familiar feeling of being disapparated.

Lucius knew Hermione was terrified, but he was already losing the feeling in his right hand from her squeezing so tightly as he led her into drawing room where the Dark Lord was waiting.

Hermione knew how hard she was clutching Lucius's hand and she knew her trembling was visible to all these Death Eaters, but she really could not stop herself. Voldemort was exactly as she remembered Harry describing – tall, thin, bald and noseless; piercing red eyes that were fixed menacingly on her, but no matter how bad she knew it probably was, she could not turn her fearful gaze away. She and Voldemort were the only two in this room that were without masks and that only increased her fear; she knew Lucius and Severus were on either side of her, but she had no idea which one Remus was, nor did she know who any of the others were.

"I have summoned you here today to bear witness to the induction of a new member to our ranks," Voldemort's eyes swept over his Death Eaters before once again landing on the terrified muggleborn standing between two of his best. "Bring the girl forward, Lucius."

Hermione emitted a frightened squeak when she was dragged forward from the circle and position directly in front of the Dark Lord; but the moment Lucius relinquished his grip on her and moved back into his spot in the circle, she felt her legs give out beneath her and fell to her knees, her body shaking with fear. No matter what Voldemort had just said about 'inducting a new member', she was certain she was about to meet her maker.

"Some of you will recognise this as Harry Potter's mudblood friend, Hermione Granger," started Voldemort, as he looked distastefully down at the frightened witch. "Miss Granger is here today courtesy of Lucius's romantic entanglements," a shocked murmuring rose up from the Death Eater who had not known. "Despite being from one of the oldest pureblooded families, Lucius has dirtied his family name by not only becoming romantically involved with Miss Granger but by procreating with her as well. Why then, are they both still alive, you wonder? Despite her _mudblood_ origins, Miss Granger can be very useful to our cause."

By now, Voldemort had begun to pace around the circle, which only further intimidated Hermione, especially when he was behind her and she couldn't see him.

"You see, the Order of the Phoenix is under the impression that Miss Granger is not here of her own free will despite her attempts to tell them otherwise," continued Voldemort as he scanned the masks of his followers, his eyes briefly resting on his Order informant. "It is because of this false belief that it is only a matter of time before Potter and his sidekick attempt to rescue her, and when they do – oh _yes,_ they will definitely find her – they will find themselves being ambushed and brought to me. At this point, it will become clear to them that their dear little mudblood was nothing but well placed _bait_ to lure them out of hiding," he finally stopped pacing, placing himself back at the head of the circle, directly in front of Hermione who was still shaking on the hardwood floor. "Do you fear me, Miss Granger?"

"Y-yes..."

"Good," Voldemort drew his wand from his robes. "Hold out your left arm. Sleeve up."

Hermione, her hands shaking, drew the left sleeve of her robes up and held out her visibly trembling left arm, knowing full well what was about to happen. Although she was a 'mudblood', she was mildly surprised when the Dark Lord took hold of her left wrist to hold her arm still; she hadn't thought he would be willing to touch her, because she was 'dirty' and everything he hated.

"You will be the first mudblood to carry my mark," said Voldemort as he pressed the tip of his wand to Hermione's left forearm; he smirked in satisfaction as a pained cry escaped the girl's lips. Out the corner of his eyes he saw a sharp movement, "Stay where you are, Lucius."

After nearly a minute of that excruciating pain, Hermione felt the vice like grip on her arm loosen and the moment the hand and wand were removed she doubled over, clutching her now bleeding left arm to her body. Tears were streaming down her face as the Dark Lord stood over her.

"Remus, you will inform the Order that an informant has information on Miss Granger's whereabouts."

"Yes, my Lord."

"Lucius, remain behind. The rest of you, _leave._ Severus, take the girl with you."

The Death Eaters quickly began disapparating, not wanting to incur the wrath of their master by taking their time.

Severus walked to the middle of the circle and pulled the sniffling and frightened Hermione to her feet; she clutched tightly at his robes as he disapparated them back to the Malfoys' French mansion.

The moment they appeared at the mansion, Hermione's legs gave out from beneath her again as she fell to the ground sobbing, her arm still bleeding and the blood seeping into her robes.

Severus sighed, taking pity on his former student; he opened the front door and scooped Hermione up into his arms and took her inside, kicking the door closed behind them. He felt her clutch at his robes once more as he carried her to the study and set her down on an armchair; she needed pain relief and that bleeding needed to be stopped, but there was little he could do if she did not let go of him, _"Hermione,_ you need to let go."

Hermione reluctantly relinquished her hold on the dark haired man and watched through tear filled eyes as he walked over to a bookcase. With a wave of his wand, the bookcase disappeared and Hermione saw Severus disappear into what could only be a secret room, but he soon returned with a small bottle and knelt down in front of her.

"For the pain," Severus handed Hermione the bottle; he raised an eyebrow when she didn't even bother to check what it was and quickly gulped down the contents. "Now, this will hurt but you need to stay _still."_

Hermione nodded and watched as he pressed the tip of his wand to her forearm; she was certain that nothing could hurt anymore than getting the Dark Mark; in fact she even felt that childbirth rather paled in comparison. This hurt though, whatever Severus was doing to heal her arm; her eyes were soon squeezed shut again as if that would help ward off the pain.

"There," Severus removed his wand from Hermione's forearm; he had removed all traces of blood, leaving the pale forearm with an angry red Dark Mark emblazoned along the length. He knew from experience that it would soon darken and fade slightly, only to burn black each time the Dark Lord summoned them. The girl was a right state, but if it was comfort she wanted, she would have to wait until Lucius returned.

_If_ he returned.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Woo! That was actually easier to write than I thought it was, I thought I would have to force myself to write a decent enough update. Mind you, I don't think I made Voldemort scary enough, nor do I think I did a very good job of explaining Remus's situation. But compared to my other recent half-arsed updates, I think I did a pretty good job of this one. Let me know what you think though!

**Next Chapter:** The Order launches a rescue mission for Hermione. What did the Dark Lord want with Lucius?


End file.
